Piano-key mounting.



E. A. MAYOR.

PIANO KEY moun'rme. APPLICATION FILED JAR. 6,1910.

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Patented July 18, i911.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ENOGH ALLAN MAYOR, OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.

PIANO-KEY MOUNTING.

Application filed January 6, 1910.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ENooH ALLAN MAYOR, a citizen of the United States,and resident of San Antonio, in the county of Bexar and State of Texas,have invented certain new and useful PianoKey Mounting, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to piano actions and particularly to the key pinwhereby the key is pivotally mounted on the balance rail. In pianos thetouch depends upon the amount of weight which is placed upon the innerend of the key. This weight being relatively heavy it will take aheavier touch to depress the key, and vice versa.

The object of my invention is to provide a means of pivotally mountingthe key which shall eliminate the wear and rattle incident to piano keysbalanced or pivoted in the ordinary way and which shall provide a meansof adjustably mounting the key so that the touch may be regulatedwithout the necessity of using weights and thus make it comparativelyeasy to change the touch in any piano without the necessity of removingthe keys and replacing them by keys which are weighted in a differentmanner.

The invention consists primarily in the use of a. balance or key pin,the ends of which are engaged solidly with the balance rail and with thekey, the middle portion of the pin being cut away so as to form a thinspring section which will act to resiliently hold the key in its raisedposition and return it to its raised or normal position after the keyhas been depressed and released.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side View, partly in sect-ion, of a keyand balancerail, showing my improved key pin in position therein andshowing the key in its normal position; Fig. 2 is a like view to Fig. 1,showing the key depressed; and, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the keypin about natural size.

In these figures 2 designates a balance rail of the usual construction,but having a vertical recess or socket 3 at its upper face.

l designates a key of any usual construct-ion and having a verticalrecess 5 or socket in its lower face.

The pin 6 is made from a short length of metal rod preferably round insection, about one'eighth inch in diameter and an inch and a half long.The middle portion of this rod is cut away on both sides to leave aflat, thin resilient web 7 which connects the ends Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented July 18, 1911.

Serial No. 536,760.

of the pin. The openings or sqpkets 3 and 5 are deeper than the lengthof the ends 8 of the pin so that the spring section 7 is partly housedwithin the sockets 3 and 5, as shown in Fig. l. A felt 9 surrounds themiddle portion of the pin and is interposed between the underface of thekey and the upper face of the balance rail, as also shown in Fig. 1.

It will be seen that upon a depression of the key, the resilient portion7 of the pin will be fixed and that as soon as the key is released, thisresilient section will act to return the key to its normal position.Itwill be seen that the amount of force requisite to depress the end ofthe key will depend entirely upon the strength of the spring 7 and thatthis will in turn depend either upon the thickness of the spring portion7 or upon its length and if a pin having a relatively short springsection is used, that there will be a greater force acting against thedepression of the key and vice versa. It is thus possible to use pins ofthe same size, as far as length and diameter goes, and the keys andbalance rails having the same size sockets or openings 3 and 5 and yetsecure a variation of the strength of the spring by providing pins inwhich the spring section 7 is longer or shorter, and that thus it is aneasy matter to adjust the touch of any piano and if necessary to changethe touch by simply moving one set of pins 6 and substituting there foranother set of pins in which the spring section is longer or shorter asdesired. It will also be noticed that this substitution does not involveany change in the relative distance of the key and balance rail and itis further pointed out that the key rests upon the felt 9 precisely asit would in an ordinary key support. This result is secured because theholes or sockets 3 and 5 are so much larger than the portion 7 of thepin as to permit the portion 7 to flex freely. In a balance support forpiano keys, it is impossible to provide a spring directly interposedbetween the balance-rail and the key upon which the key is supported forthe reason that this spring would act to raise the key too much from thebalance rail. My device, however, permits the key, as before stated, torest upon the balance rail in its usual position. Furthermore. there areno parts which will have a tendency to wear and rattle, nor is there anynecessity of using the usual bushing for the balance pin, nor the buttonon top of the key. These parts are entirely eliminated, thus renderingthis manner of supporting the key much cheaper than the ordinaryconstruction. Another very important advantage of my invention is thatit permits of a very easy manner of regulating the touch so as to makethe touch heavy or light. Thus assuming that the sockets areperpendicular which are bored into the key and balance rail, if the pin6 is perfectly straight the key will be on a balance, or nearly so.Should itbe desired, however, to have the touch heavy, then the pin isbent backward; should it be desired to have the touch light then the pinis bent forward. \Vhen the pin is bent backward it will be obvious thatit will increase the downward pressure on the rear end. of the key, andvice versa.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A pin for supporting piano-keys, the middle portion of the pin beingless in thickness than the end portions of the pin to leave a thinresilient web, the portions of 1 1 Bexar and State of Texas this 28thday of September A. D. 1909.

the pin defining the opposite ends of the re silient web formingoppositely disposed shoulders.

2. The combination with a balance rail and a piano key resting thereon,the balance rail being formed with a socket and the adjaeent face of thekey having a corresponding socket, of a pin connecting the balance railand key and fitting said sockets snugly, the pin being circular in crosssection, the middle portion of the pin being cut away on opposite sidesto leave a thin resilient web defined by oppositely extending shoulders,the end portions oi the pin on opposite sides of the cut away portionbeing of less length than the depth of said sockets.

3. The combination with a balance rail and a piano key, the balance railbeing provided with a socket and the key being pro vided with acorresponding socket, of a pin connecting the rail and key, the ends ofthe pin fitting snugly in said sockets, said pin being circular in crosssection, the middle portion of the pin being cut away on opposite sidesto leave a thin resilient web, the main body of the key at each end ofthe web forming shoulders, and felt interposed between the adjacent faceof the key and rail and surrounding the middle of the cutaway portion ofthe pin.

Signed at San Antonio in the county of E. ALLAN MAYOR.

Witnesses:

A. J. BUCHANAN, C. H. THOMPSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

